The crisis at Peugeot Citroën veered into political embarrassment for France’s
Socialist Government yesterday, as ministers squabbled over calls for the
State to take a stake in the ailing carmaker.

The row not only illustrated deep divisions within President Hollande’s
Cabinet over economic strategy, but also undermined the manufacturer’s
attempt to prove that it can surmount its difficulties without public
support.

It came a day after Peugeot Citroën had written down the value of its assets
by €4.1 billion ahead of the publication of its annual results next week,
which are expected to show a loss of €6 billion or